David Jonsson Joins A24’s ‘Please’ With Gracie Abrams

Halina Reijn is assembling something special. The Babygirl writer-director has added David Jonsson to the cast of Please, her next film with A24 — and the lineup is already one of the more intriguing ensembles in recent memory.

Jonsson, who took home the BAFTA Rising Star award in 2025 on the strength of his work in Rye Lane and Alien: Romulus, joins a cast that already includes Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams making her acting debut, British actor Tom Burke, and Heated Rivalry breakout Connor Storrie. Plot details are being kept firmly under wraps — no logline, no character descriptions, nothing — which, honestly, only makes the whole thing more exciting.

Reijn’s Third Swing with A24

This is Reijn’s third feature with the studio, and her track record there speaks for itself. Bodies Bodies Bodies announced her as a sharp, wickedly funny voice in genre filmmaking. Then came Babygirl — the Nicole Kidman-led erotic thriller that became one of A24’s biggest global hits, earning $64 million worldwide. Whatever Please turns out to be, Reijn has earned the benefit of the doubt.

She’ll write and direct again, producing through her MAN UP Film banner alongside frequent collaborator David Hinojosa, who is re-teaming with her for the third time. A24 is producing and financing, with Zach Nutman executive producing.

A Cast Worth Paying Attention To

Tom Burke brings serious film pedigree to the project. He’s played Orson Welles in David Fincher’s Mank, Praetorian Jack in George Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, and has racked up credits with Steven Soderbergh (Black Bag), Sebastián Lelio (The Wonder), and Nicolas Winding Refn (Only God Forgives). On the TV side, he leads the BBC detective series Strike and can currently be seen in Netflix’s Legends. He’s also been announced for Alex Garland’s Elden Ring adaptation — also with A24 — and a recurring role in Amazon Prime Video’s Blade Runner 2099.

Connor Storrie, 26, is having a moment. The Heated Rivalry star is quickly becoming one of the more sought-after young actors working right now. This is actually his second A24 project — he was previously cast in Peaked from directors Molly Gordon and Allie Levitan, and Gordon has been effusive about him. “Connor is a f–king genius and I’m so lucky that he’s in the movie,” she said recently. Beyond Please, Storrie has a guest role in For All Mankind season 5, a part in Criminal Minds season 19, and is circling Craig Zobel’s thriller Turpentine opposite Melissa McCarthy.

And then there’s Gracie Abrams, stepping in front of a camera for the first time. The Grammy nominee has built a devoted following through her music, and landing her acting debut in a Halina Reijn film is no small thing.

Jonsson’s Year Just Keeps Getting Bigger

For Jonsson, Please is just one piece of an extraordinary run. Last year he earned strong notices for The Long Walk, the dystopian survival thriller based on the Stephen King novel, and fronted the Brit indie prison drama Wasteman alongside Tom Blyth, which premiered at Toronto. He also exec produced Wasteman alongside Sophie Glibber through their production company greyarea — a signal that his ambitions extend well beyond acting.

Coming up, he’ll play Sammy Davis Jr. opposite Sydney Sweeney’s Kim Novak in Colman Domingo’s directorial debut Scandalous. He’s reuniting with his The Long Walk co-star Cooper Hoffman in India Donaldson’s Chaperones for Plan B. And he has a lead role in Frank Ocean’s as-yet-untitled debut feature — a project that has had the film world buzzing for years.

No release date has been set for Please, and with the plot still locked down tight, there’s not much more to go on — just a director at the height of her powers, and four actors you genuinely want to watch. That’s usually enough.